Seven honored as examples of the Spirit of Gainesville

Thursday

Seven people selected from nominations submitted by the public were recognized Thursday in the seventh annual Spirit of Gainesville Awards by Gainesville Magazine.

Nominations were made in categories for Arts, Community Service, Education, Entrepreneurship and Medicine, but Perry McGriff was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Spirit of Gainesville committee, drawn from editors and the publisher of The Gainesville Sun, which produces Gainesville Magazine.

McGriff, who died exactly a year ago, was a former Gator athlete who ran an insurance company and served as Gainesville mayor, Alachua County commissioner, state representative, philanthropist, and volunteer for many causes and community organizations.

An encounter in 1996 with a California police officer who was badly injured on the job and survived only with the help of 100 pints of donated blood prompted McGriff to work with LifeSouth Community Blood Centers to establish the Five Points of Life Foundation, which sponsored an annual cross-country bicycle ride. Over the course of several years McGriff criss-crossed the country, cycling more than 14,000 miles and raising awareness — community by community — about the need to donate blood, apheresis, marrow, organ and tissue and cord blood.

He also was well known as the unofficial photographer for civic meetings of all sorts.

"We are now in the seventh year for the Spirit of Gainesville Awards," said Douglas Ray, editor and general manager of The Sun. "Each year we receive amazing, inspiring stories of people who work tirelessly to make our city such a special place to live. This year is no different. Each and every nominee, and those who took the time and initiative to nominate them — exhibit just exactly what we mean by the Spirit of Gainesville."

The award winners include:

Arts — Brenda Smith and Ron Burrichter, faculty members at the University of Florida who founded the Sing For Life program at Oak Hammock that helps seniors and people with Parkinson's disease improve speech, cognitive and social skills through music.

Entrepreneurship — Agipitus Lye, a classically trainined violinist who picked up tech skills to build an extremely successful variety of imaginative products and apps, and then began mentoring others by starting the Startup Hour and Hacker House downtown. Lye is also president of the Gainesville Arts and Parks Foundation.